Growing Power transforms communities by supporting people from diverse backgrounds and the environments in which they live through the development of Community Food Systems.  These systems provide high-quality, safe, healthy, affordable food for all residents in the community. Growing Power develops Community Food Centers, as a key component of Community Food Systems, through training, active demonstration, outreach, and technical assistance. 

Will Allen, our Chief Executive Officer believes, "If people can grow safe, healthy, affordable food, if they have access to land and clean water, this is transformative on every level in a community.  I believe we cannot have healthy communities without a healthy food system."

Our goal is a simple one: to grow food, to grow minds, and to grow community.  Growing Power began with a farmer, a plot of land, and a core group of dedicated young people.  Today, our love of the land and our dedication to sharing knowledge is changing lives.  

Growing Power's projects fall into three essential areas:

Grow - Projects and Growing Methods - Growing Power demonstrates our easy to replicate growing methods through on-site workshops and hands-on demonstrations.  We have farms in Milwaukee and Merton, Wisconsin, and in Chicago, Illinois.  Growing Power has also established satellite-training sites in Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, and Mississippi.

Bloom - Education and Technical Assistance - Growing Power's educates folks through local, national, and international outreach for farmers and communities.  We also run multiple youth programs, have an active volunteer base, and actively work on policy initiatives regarding agriculture.

Thrive - Food Production and Distribution - Food production occurs in the organization's demonstration greenhouses, rural farm site in Merton, and urban farms in Milwaukee and Chicago.  We also distribute produce, grass-based meats, and value-added products through the activities of over 300 small family farmers in the Rainbow Farmers Cooperative, and the organization's year-round food security program the Farm-to-City Market Basket Program.

All of the above provide important opportunities for individuals and communities to network with each other as they work in partnership to promote food security and environmentally sound food production practices.

Additionally, Growing Power convenes a minimum of five national workshops on-site at our Milwaukee facility each year; we have sponsored three national conferences focusing on food security; we provide technical assistance - on-site - at numerous sites around the country from Boston to Montana.

Over 3,500 individuals receive tours of the Community Food Center each year; and the Will Allen, Growing Power's Chief Executive Officer, has been the keynote speaker at several national conferences and the recipient of numerous local, state, and national awards and recognitions, including a 2005 Leadership for a Changing World Award from the Ford Foundation. 

Milwaukee Headquarters:  5500 W. Silver Spring Drive, Milwaukee, WI 53218

Tel. 414.527.1546 l Fax 414.527.1908

Chicago Projects Office:  2215 W. North Avenue, Chicago, IL 60647

Tel. 773.486.6005